March 29, 2011

Commonwealth Games 2010Stadium -New Delhi

Commonwealth Games 2010Stadium -New Delhi
Federation president Michael Fennell has said there is still “a lot of work” to be done before the event gets underway in Delhi on October 3.

Fennel had a tour of the athletes’ village and held a meeting with Indian government officials yesterday following complaints about the readiness of the village.

Delhi’s preparations have also been hit by failures in the construction of venues. On Tuesday a bridge at the Jawaharlal Nehru complex, the centrepiece of the Games, collapsed leaving over 20 people injured before part of the ceiling at the weightlifting arena fell in on Wednesday.

Fennell had said yesterday that he had been heartened by “considerable improvements” made to facilities, but he sounded a more cautionary note today.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, to do the final touches, and there’s more work in the village. It’s not over yet,” he told a press conference.

Several teams delayed their departures to India due to their concerns, and at one point there were worries that some nations would choose to withdraw from the Games.

The event has seen a host of individual competitors opt to pull out, but Fennell confirmed that he was expecting all 71 teams to participate in Delhi.

“I am very happy that today we are recording that there will be full participation in the games,” Fennell said.

"I was very pleased to hear that the teams that had indicated some reservations had given instructions for their teams to travel to Delhi."

He also confirmed that he will make another inspection of the athletes’ village today, and admitted that the work that is currently being carried out should have been completed well ahead of the Games.